Surfing Siberia: A Short Film

Deep into the Arctic Circle a group of Russian surfers seek out deserted waves in an unforgiving landscape

Iceland, Norway, the UK, these are the locations most commonly discussed when conversations turn to cold water surfing. Not Russia. Never Russia. Except, this time, it’s Russia. Here, in this short film by director Konstantin Kokorev, a brave group ventures into the deep North, exploring and surfing previously untouched Arctic Ocean spots.

The locations are remote, deserted, and uninviting—extreme in every sense of the word. Few in Russia surf cold water, and even fewer have ever surfed this far into the Arctic Circle. Sure, the waves aren’t perfect, and neither is the surfing, but that’s sort of the point—the film isn’t made by a tourism board and the goal isn’t to log NBDs in the trick book. Rather, the film rallies around a theme of uninhibited exploration, finding beauty in a harsh, natural world, and freeing one’s self from a fear of the uncontrollable.